“Don’t hold it like that, here, like this...” Jongup took the handgun from Daehyun’s grip and demonstrated the right way. He aimed at the dummy and the bullet shot right through the head. “Straighten your arms—yeah, like that. Hold it tight. Practice using both hands first, if you can continuously hit the bullseye then we will try using only your right.”

Daehyun nodded his head repeatedly, trying to memorize every pointer that the younger gave him. He narrowed his eye and concentrated on the target. As the bullet left the sleek-black weapon, his body jolted slightly at the unfamiliar force— but It barely scratched the surface.

He groaned.

“It’s okay, it’s only your second day.... you’ll get better!” Jongup patted his shoulder reassuringly. The first time he shot, the bullet had somehow struck the roof— this was definitely an improvement. “Let’s get some rest...”

Daehyun gladly followed Jongup to sit. He wasn’t much of a physical person, the martial arts training before had already drained his energy.

“So, how long do I have to train until, you know, they plunge me into a mission?” Daehyun curiously asked. These past two weeks, he had been receiving basic training for fighting—both using weapons and not— the standard knowledge of field missions, and such. He was told to officially join the paramedics' squad –given his past experience— but every member apparently had to know the first thing about surviving before they can go further.

“No one knows.” Jongup shrugged. “Things are pretty unexpected here. If we had enough members, and there’s nothing big happens, it will be months before you can go anywhere. But if we lost many in battles, then they will throw you into an attack even when you don’t know how to hold a gun—it happens before, the poor kid barely survived.”

Daehyun cringed. He really needed to get used to this weaponry s.

Seeing his worried expression, the smiley boy laughed. “Don’t worry hyung, you’re a paramedic, even when you’re out in an attack you won’t be in the front line. But you still need this in case you’re caught in a battle or  there’s a sudden attack on the headquarter...”

“Is that even possible?”

“Everything is possible. I heard that ever since we moved into this place five years ago, nothing like that happens. But the former headquarters was defeated in a sudden raid, so we have to prepare for the worst.”

Daehyun learned that Jongup had joined the rebel group about four years ago when he was barely sixteen. He grows up in a run-down orphanage in the far end of District G and the government had seized the place when he was just fourteen. He escaped the attempt to sell him into slavery and lived rummaging through forests and abandoned cities before the rebel group finally found him and took him as a member.

“Four years is nothing. Junhong had been living with the rebels for as long as he can remember. The rebel bases are practically his playground.” Jongup had told him on one of their midnight talks. That night, Daehyun had never felt more grateful to grow up having his mother by his side.

He scanned the practice room with conflicting feelings. His whole life had changed overnight, but at least he had 20 years of peaceful life beforehand. Junhong, Jongup, and many of these guys were not that lucky. Daehyun had encountered many who were still in their early teens, handling gun and sword way better than him.

“That girl, she’s a minor right?” Daehyun pointed his finger to a short-haired girl who was currently practicing alone. If he is correct, she shouldn’t be more than fifteen.

“Ah, Dohee-ah? She’s older that what she looks like. She’s about the same age as me. She’s our pilot.” Jongup explained. He gave the girl a wave when she turned her head to their direction.

“Pilot?!” Daehyun never imagined a petite girl like her to be a pilot.   

“Yeah, she might be short but she’s one of our best pilot. She had been handling the aircraft for years...” Daehyun nodded his head in acknowledgement, things are really unexpected in this place. “Ah, and see that girl?” Jongup pointed to a girl with brown curly hair. “She’s Leehi, she may looks harmless but she’s an even better sniper than me. And that boy with googles? He’s Baro, one of our best spies. We might be young, but we can fight just fine.” The ever-smiling boy closed his introduction with a proud beam.

“That’s impressive! And by the way, how could I remember all those names? There are too many people in this place...”

Jongup’s grin instantly fell down into a sad smile. “Nah, don’t bother to, nothing can guarantee someone’s stay. You’ll automatically remember those who survive long enough.”

Those who survive long enough.

Daehyun simply didn’t know how to react to that, and they went back to practice with a silent dismay.

_________________________________________________

Judging from his appearance, Kim Himchan must be on his late twentieth, maybe around 26 or 27—Daehyun concluded. The fair man sitting behind the desk is the one in charge of the paramedics unit. His delicate and elegant figure gave off a certain calming effect, befitting the image of a healer. His eyes, however, displayed a hint of mischief. So far, his leader seemed like a nice man.

“Don’t ever call me General Kim, just call me Himchan or hyung. The moment you address me formally, I’ll kick you out of my unit. Arasseo?” Daehyun smiled and gave the man a thumbs up, which he returned with a laugh. “I like you already. So, what did you know about our group so far?”

Nothing much, Daehyun recalled. “We go around kicking the government’s ?”

“Well, that’s the basic idea. We simply call ourselves The Rebels, and as our name suggest, we rebel against the government. Our main objective is to crush the ruling regime and replace it with a fairer system. We divided our soldiers into a few units, focusing on each speciality. We are the paramedics, basically, we heal the wounded soldiers. Any question?”

“Can you tell me about the other units?”

“Well, there’s The Raid & Attack unit, the frontmen of our battles –the best fighters, marksman, archers—” Jongup, Daehyun thought. “Then there’s also the Tech guys, they develop our weapons and computers, dealing with electronic stuffs.” Junhong. “The third is the Strategist, the one dealing with attack plans and schemes—our brain.” Most likely Youngjae’s. “And the last are the spies from the Infiltration unit who gather information from dangerous sources. Is that enough?”

“Okay.”

“Now, let’s get back to you. I presume that you’re already familiar with battle wounds?” Daehyun began to explain the stuffs that he knew and Himchan nodded along with his answers, seeming pretty satisfied. His mouth curved into a big smile now and then. “That’s really exceptional. You can begin training with the others right away.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

“Nah, I should be the one thanking you... We only have twenty people here—including you and me— and it’s pretty tough. So, meet me here tomorrow after your training?” He extended his hand and Daehyun welcomed it with a firm grasp. “Welcome to my unit, Daehyun-ssi.”

_________________________________________________

“Going somewhere?”

Daehyun turned his head to find Youngjae standing by a door, struggling with boxes in his hands. The black-haired boy was wearing a plain white t-shirt and knee-lenght cargo pants that he looked somehow different.

Daehyun unconciously stared at him a tad bit longer that intended. 

“What? What are you staring at?”

“You look like a kid...” Daehyun blurted out. Youngjae scowled and playfully kick him in return.

“How dare you insult me like that...”

“It’s not an insult.” It really wasn’t. Youngjae looked like a kid in a good—cute way. It gave him an innocent vibe, a nice change from his usual vicious, sassy self. “Although the impression is clearly misleading...”

“YAH!”

“Hahahha, just kidding. Need help with that?”

Youngjae gave him a nonchalant shrug and Daehyun took that as a yes. He grab a box full of books and the younger was left with another filled with electronic equipments. “Where to go?”

“To my room...” Youngjae led the way into the west side of the building, the part that Daehyun was still foreign with. Daehyun observed that different with his room, which are located in a corridor alongside other bedrooms, Youngjae’s was in a more secluded area— apart from where the other members reside.

“So, you’re alone in this part of the building?” He inquired.

“Those are mostly storage rooms, or unused part of the building. I requested the solitude so I can freely do stuffs.”

“..... stuffs?” Daehyun raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously at the younger boy, who instantly turned beet red.

“Aish! What did you imagine?! I mean READING! I WANT TO READ AND THINK FREELY!”

“Read? Think? Well....”

“TACTICS! I PLAN OUR STRATEGY! AISH! YOU!”

Seeing Youngjae all flustered and embarassed made Daehyun somewhat happy. Behind his cold guy persona, apparently lies a perfectly normal guy.

A few teasings and turns after, they finally arrived in front of a big door. Near the handle, Daehyun saw a beeping small screen and some suspicious-looking button. Youngjae began punching the button lightly and green light suddenly emanated and painted the other boy’s face with funny looking strips. The light vanished and the door opened with a click.

Daehyun jawdropped at the sight.

“Come on, don’t just stand there looking like a fool.” He abruptly closed his mouth and joined Youngjae in his room.

“What was that?” Daehyun took another look before Youngjae closed the door behind his back.

“Cool, huh? It’s a special lock with an identification mechanism. Some rooms in this building have that machine attached since the beginning. The guys from Tech did a few experiments and found out that they can set up who can enter the room and who can’t. Important rooms have that installed.” Youngjae happily explained. “I’m the only one who can open that door.” He added with pride.

Daehyun had speculated before that Youngjae was an important key in this group, and this information confirm his deduction. If he was to be guarded with such special treatment, he clearly was not just no one.

“Just put the box in that table, I’ll arrange it later.” Daehyun did as instructed and put the book-filled packet on a table near the bed. Youngjae had a heaps of books neatly lined in three big bookshelf, and many still safely tucked in boxes. Daehyun quietly scanned the nearest collection to find that most book weren’t even written in languages he knew.

“You read all of this?”

Youngjae shook his head. “I’m still trying to figure out most of the languages. I haven’t had much free time lately.”

Pretty hardcore for a hobby, Daehyun thought.

“There are a few on medical, I believe. You can borrow it if you want, but seach for it yourself.”

Daehyun perked at the mention of medical books. He generally disliked reading with the exception of that topic. He quickly made himself at home and skimmed through the book titles while Youngjae arranged his newly-acquired electronics.

They were both engulfed in their own world, basking with the comfortable silence. The click-clack of irons and the faint noise of paper against paper were their only accompanying song. For the first time in quite a long time, Daehyun somehow felt at peace.

“Done!” Youngjae clasped his hands and smiled triumphantly at the now fully-arranged machine. Interested, Daehyun put down his book and sauntered to his side.

“What is this?”

“A computer. You haven’t seen one?”

Growing up in a rundown district didn’t give Daehyun much knowledge on electronics as it was rare in the first place. The rebel group might not have the best device avaliable—he had seen the government soldiers walked around with high-tech machine before— but they still have the luxury compared to the rest of the country. “This is only a small and old computer, we have a bigger and more advanced one in the command room. I finally get this baby after begging Yongguk for months.”

“Yongguk?”

“Our First in Command in this place. You must’ve met him in the interview.”

Oh, must be the deep-voiced man. Daehyun recollected.

“So, what can you do with that?”

“Many things, but basically I use it to run an analitical program that can help me devise plans and strategies.”

“How about the other members of your unit?”

Youngjae simply laughed at his naive question. “There are no ‘other members’ in my unit. The Strategist unit is me. Period.”

Daehyun stared at Youngjae as if he had grown a third arm. “So, you work alone?”

“It’s safer that way. I might be annoying but the council trusts my skill. I’m the smartest person in this group anyway, you can’t even beat me ganging up together.” He shrugged and went back to his monitor screen. Daehyun keep staring at the back of his head and just like usual, he blurted out the first thing that came to his head.

“It must be lonely...”

Youngjae’s finger froze mid-air for a moment before the loud clack of skin touching keyboard was heard again.

Daehyun, meanwhile, kept his mouth shut and stayed on his place, watching the back of a lonely-looking boy typing on his new toy.

_________________________________________________

“Hurry! We’ll miss out the departure!” Junhong impatiently dragged Daehyun’s wrist, forcing the latter to run despite his exhausted state. The Rebels was sending a group on a rescue mission to a district, and Jongup was being a part of it. The younger had insisted that they have to see him leave no matter what happens.

“Slow down, my legs aren’t as long as yours...” Daehyun whined, but Junghong only quickened his pace. He observed that there are many people who are also rushing in the hall just like them, excited to see the plane take off. When they were finally out in the open hangar, there are just too many people that it took them times to spot the brunette.

“Hyung! Junhong!” The brunette waves excitedly, a thankful smile adorning his face. “Thank you for seeing me off.”

Daehyun shook his head and playfully fisted his arm. “Nah, it’s a good exercise to run in the hall like that...”

They laughed heartlity and chatted while time still allowed them to. Jongup was in a full fighting-gear, but it really was nothing. It’s just their usual attire, plus a rundown bulletproof jacket which will barely shield him. He took his customized gun—copyright by Junhong, a riffle, and a few small weapons.

He’s not even twenty.

“Don’t forget to pre-set your gun, hyung. I’ve add a few cool stuff there but it’s better to use the ones you’re already familiar with.” Junhong instructed him as if they are currently playing one of those games they had in the recreational rooms. However, one wouldn’t miss the slight seriousness in the usually playfull teenager.

“I heard tonight’s dinner will include chicken. Don’t be late!” Daehyun humorously added, regardless of how it was suddenly become hard to breathe.

A few minutes later, the soldiers were asked to gather. They excitedly waved around before they get into the small hovercraft, their spectators shouting encouraging words and promises to see them again when they come back. The voices were muffled by the roaring machine but echoed in the flattering sky. And Daehyun somehow understands why it was important to see the plane ascending into the colourless pit above.

“At least, what they will remember are our happy faces and the promise of home. Eventhough, maybe, they just would not make it.”

Junghong’s whispered speech soared to the endless expanse, and dropped down crashing into Daehyun’s heart. Which instantly sank.   

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's another one for y'all!